Recognize Ads Disguised As Real Headlines With This Chrome Extension
Anyone who has spent enough time on the Internet knows that you cannot believe everything you read. But scroll through the Google search results and you’ll come across ads masquerading as news articles or other official content. These results are usually marked with an “Advertise” icon, which most users will easily notice, but we all know someone who might need some extra help sorting ads from real content (and maybe even real news from fake news while we’re at this ). For those people who need help recognizing ads, we offer a browser extension such as NoDisguisedAdsAnymore.
NoDisguisedAdsAnymore is a simple Chrome add-on that detects ads impersonating regular content and displaces them from search results on Google, Reddit, and other sites. They can still be clicked on, but darkening the ads makes them easier to recognize (and ignore), which should reduce the likelihood of being clicked or mistaken for real headlines.
How to add NoDisguisedAdsAnymore to Chrome
Obviously, you or the person you’re installing the add-on for should be using Chrome, but adding the NoDisguisedAdsAnymore extension to your browser only takes a couple of clicks, so it should be easy to refer friends or family who may not be familiar with browser add-ons. Here’s how:
- Open the NoDisguisedAdsAnymore extension page in Chrome .
- Click Add to Chrome.
- In the pop-up window, click Add Extension.
- The installation should complete almost instantly, and the changes will take effect the next time you google or download Reddit – no browser restart or settings are required.
Now, as Gax points out , NoDisguisedAdsAnymore is overkill for users who already have ad or content blocking extensions installed, as they remove ads entirely rather than just make them less visible. But while ad blocking add-ons may be more effective at completely removing and reducing ads, NoDisguisedAdsAnymore is still a useful educational tool as it can help users understand how easily ad content can be inserted into search results or content feeds.